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For all you guys following the event and those on the water with iPhones or CrackBerries, you know the results will be up quickly so here's a quicker way for you to check them:

www.yachtscoring.com/mobile - that will lead you to the main menu of events. Select Charleston Race Week (or any other event we're running) for all the info.

I will be there to following up and overseeing the results which will as usual be posted directly from the committee boats as immediately as possible (provided no microwave interference on the shore course).

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Just want to warn everyone about pollen, if you're not used to it. It's blanketing everything; if you have allergies, bring your drugs!

Sailflow is saying 60's and 70's with max wind on Friday (9-16). How accurate will it be? Roughly 7 hours north in Va Beach it reached 90 degrees yesterday, and it's been pretty windy here the last couple weeks. I'll try to bring it with me???

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Just want to warn everyone about pollen, if you're not used to it. It's blanketing everything; if you have allergies, bring your drugs!

Sailflow is saying 60's and 70's with max wind on Friday (9-16). How accurate will it be? Roughly 7 hours north in Va Beach it reached 90 degrees yesterday, and it's been pretty windy here the last couple weeks. I'll try to bring it with me???

Anyways, see everyone soon.

Sailflow is pretty accurate on the harbor with the coldish water keeping things 5-10 degrees cooler than on land. forecast is 75-80 on land for both Saturday and Sunday. Thursday and Friday should be a bit chillier, with rain on Thursday practice but plenty of breeze. Today is supposed to be 88.

BTW: Sea breeze has been kicking every day since we got back from Dubai.

CHARLESTON, SC (April 05, 2010) - Sleek, carbon-fiber racing sailboats are flooding into Charleston with less than a week to go until the first starting gun of 2010 Charleston Race Week, and entry records aren't the only thing being broken. Race Director Randy Draftz was a bit surprised to see more than 16 sailing World Champions spread throughout the fleet along with innumerable National, North American, Collegiate and Olympic standouts. "We've always said that Race Week should be the most enjoyable regatta in the South, and it's great to see so many world-class racers embrace not only the great racing, but the laid-back and fun attitude that Charleston is all about."

With names like Harry Melges, Bill Hardesty, and Chuck Norris showing up on crew lists, Charleston Race Week has come a long way from the local regatta it started as some 14 years ago. 2005 Team Race World Champion and 2009 US Coach of the Year Mark Ivey thinks organizers have struck just the right note. "Charleston Race Week mixes professional race management with a relaxed and truly welcoming attitude ashore," said Ivey. "On the water, the competition is as good as anywhere, but off the water, the friendly atmosphere is a nice break from the high-pressure environment of other events." Ivey will sail in the 30-boat Melges 24 fleet on Charleston local Guy Mossman's Battle Rhythm.

Melges 32 World Champion skipper and New York Yacht Club sailor Pieter Taselaar will be making his Charleston debut in 2010 in his chartered Viper 640 Bliksem, and with 29 other boats, this Class ties the Melges 24 as the largest at Race Week. "Everyone talks about how great Charleston Race Week is, so we found a way to get down here, but we're not expecting to win," said Taselaar. The Dutch native and New York resident didn't skimp on talent for his crew, which includes multiple World Champ Willem Van Waay and Australian 18-foot skiff champion Michael Coxon. "We're coming because we heard we'd have a great time - if we do well, that's great too," said Taselaar.

191 competing boats are registered for this year's running of the 'Southern Classic,' and they will race in 15 different one-design and handicap classes on four different race courses - two inside the harbor, and two outside.

J/Boats - Then and Now

Rhode Island-based J/Boats is one of the largest manufacturers of racing yachts in the world, and with 58 J/Boats registered in various classes. The J/80 class is the largest of them, the 17-year old design drawing 21 entries on their 'road to the World Championship' which will culminate in Newport this summer. The Class is replete with talent, including former World Champs Kerry Klingler and Glenn Darden, who comes to Charleston fresh off a victory in 2010 Key West Race Week with his Le Tigre. The enduring J/24 continues a tradition of strong attendance at CRW, with 17 teams vying for bragging rights in this 33-year old design.

But it's not all old-school for J/Boats, and more than a dozen of their larger racer/cruisers are scattered in the PHRF and IRC handicap fleets. But the big news is a Friday night 'sneak peak' presentation from J/Boats CEO Jeff Johnstone on one of the most-anticipated racing yachts in years - the new J/111. "Sailors have been asking for this boat, and we've answered," said Johnstone. "The J/111 is an offshore-capable boat that gets the adrenaline pumping, while also offering a great platform for inshore one-design racing and even week-end cruising with the family."

Jeff Johnstone and Craig Crossley will present in-factory photos, and reveal details on specifications and schedule for this design, which will make its premier this June. "The backlog of orders is now out a year, with boats heading to great venues like Auckland, Chicago, Newport, San Francisco, San Diego, and the Solent," said Johnstone. "With any luck, we'll see enough critical mass for regional one-design racing into the 2011/2012 seasons, including Charleston Race Week."

New to Charleston Race Week is sponsor Evolution Sails, who is offering a host of benefits to Charleston Race Week sailors. "We're bringing our custom sailmaking trailer to Charleston to make sure that every team can have modifications or repairs done without any delays during the event," said Rodney Keenan, Director of Evolution Sails NZ. Evolution is also offering a big discount to all sailors "to show how excited we are to be a part of Charleston Race Week," added Keenan. "That's 20% off anything ordered before May 1 - from custom racing membranes to cruising sails."

Evolution is providing printed daily weather reports for sailors each morning at their onsite booth.

Local Knowledge for Guests

Local racing guru Michael Miller, coach and professinal racer is proud to present his essential Tides & Currents seminar for the third straight year. The inshore and offshore discussions will focus on tidal streams, geographic factors, and other factors that can catch first-timers unaware. The offshore seminar will begin on Thursday at 4:00 PM, while the inshore discussion will start at 4:30 PM. Times are subject to change, so check the schedule at registration.

Charleston Race Week is an annual premier regatta for inshore and offshore racing sailboats 20' - 70' in length and is organized by the South Carolina Maritime Foundation and Charleston Ocean Racing Association. The 15th edition of this event, the fastest growing regatta on the east coast, will be held April 8 - 11, 2010, headquartered at the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Visit www.CharlestonRaceWeek.com for more information.

The South Carolina Maritime Foundation owns and operates the Spirit of South Carolina tall ship. The Foundation's mission is to offer effective, unique educational opportunities for students, focusing on the history, math, science and literature of our water resources and encouraging personal responsibility, contribution to the community and stewardship of the environment. Since its first season of programming in 2007, over 5,000 students have been served. With the support of local partnerships, the South Carolina Maritime Foundation is able to generate funds to keep these exceptional programs in place. Visit www.SCMaritime.org for more information.

Win a Three-Day Adventure aboard the Spirit of South Carolina for up to 18 People

Purchase a $25 ticket to be entered to win. Tickets may be purchased online before Monday, April 5th or at Charelston Race Week April 7th - 11th. The winner will be announced the final day of Charleston Race Week. Sponosr Highlights: Charleston Race Week's newest sponsor, Coachboat Management, LLC, supplies coach and support boats to individuals, teams and regatta organizers at events throughout the United States. Their charter fleet consists of 5.8m VSR ribs that provide a dry, safe and comfortable ride in both inland and offshore environments. VSR is a new generation RIB with a very slender, high bow, great planing quality and a waterline with minimum wetted surface. Coachboat Management, LLC is also an authorized sales agent for VSR in the United States. Contact them at: CoachboatManagement@gmail.com or www.vsrlab.com

Evolution Sails is dedicated to keeping up with and engineering the latest sail designs. The entire sailmaking process is proudly manufactured by Evolution Sails' experts instead of exporting the sails to outside sources for membrane production. Evolution firmly believes in selling the best sails not the most. Order today at 888.770.7245 or online at www.EvolutionSails.com.

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Winds of up to 25 knots cause gear failure, weary crews after first racing day

CHARLESTON, SC (April 09, 2010) -Chilly temperatures greeted a record fleet of racing sailboats this morning for the first day of 2010 Charleston Race Week. Over 185 boats braved 55 degree-morning temperatures today as they sailed to the race course, but their reward was a surprise 20-knot breeze that made racing today “a serious adrenalin rush” as Melges 20 competitor Peter Crawford put it. Temperatures reached the 70s by noon, providing picture perfect sailing conditions to start race week off with a bang. “I don’t know if conditions could be any more perfect than today,” said Christof Wieland, who traveled all the way from Germany to compete in his second Charleston Race Week. “The competition was stiff, and the breeze stiffer – we hope we get more!”

Jam-packed inshore courses saw plenty of heated action and tight racing across the one-design fleets, and major drama as skippers struggled to control their overpowered boats in gusty breeze. British-based Viper 640 Hijack found their pre-regatta practices to be invaluable to their performance today. “Both Wednesday and Thursday were plenty breezy, so we really got the practice we needed to keep the boat from going over,” said owner Matt Sole. Like many of the racers here, Sole “wasn’t overly concerned with results,” instead focusing on the fun that fast sailing brings. While many of the ultra-light Vipers broached and capsized in strong wind, smiles were frequently seen on crews hanging on for dear life until their boats righted themselves. The Michigan-based Viper 640 Jackpot leads this hot class with three first places out of four races.

International Melges 32 Class President Jeff Ecklund is taking a break from his usual thirty-two foot raceboat to sail the smaller Melges 20 for the weekend, and couldn’t be happier about the racing. “I call it a ‘pocket 32’ because it acts just like the big boat, only it seems faster in these conditions.” Ecklund was also excited to see the two Melges 32s scoring big in PHRF C, with Roxanne and Black Ice in first and second place. “We had a fine day, and we’re going to rock it tomorrow” said Black Ice crew Erica Bush, despite their team breaking a jib halyard, forcing some rapid on-the-water repairs.

The professionally-run Race Committees squeezed in a fourth race inshore after competitors thought the day was over, with reactions split across the tired but exhilarated teams. “Races were only about a half hour long, so we ended up coming in earlier than we liked,” said local Melges 24 racer Dave O’ Reilly. “We’re worried we won’t have these great winter winds tomorrow, and we always want to get in as much big-wind racing in as we can. We wanted to sail even more than four”

Unlike O’Reilly, top international Match Racing champion Simon Minoprio was “wiped out after the first race” – and rightfully so – the Kiwi match racing champion helped his team to three first-place finishes today to lead the IRC fleet aboard the 52 foot Vincitore. “The seminar on tides and currents offered by the event was very helpful, and today it offered some explanation to the strange wave and current conditions we experienced at the top of the course.”

Local competitor Cal Huge on Jubilee was able to maneuver well through the all-too-familiar currents, though they attribute their strong second-place position in IRC to more than just ‘local knowledge.’ “Good crew, quick sets, quick douses and lots of practice gave us the tools to do well today,” said Ned Goss, the crew boss of Jubilee. “The wind was just ripping and we were able to keep up with it.”

Full results are available here, and you can view more great photos at Charleston Race Week’s Facebook Gallery. Tomorrow’s racing begins at 10 AM offshore and 11 AM inshore, and Sunday will conclude this premier regatta.

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Picture-perfect conditions once again smile on Charleston Race Week as results narrow

CHARLESTON (April 10, 2010) - For the second straight day, fortune smiled on more than 1,500 sailors, with up to 20 knots of wind propelling their sleek race boats across all four courses of 2010 Charleston Race Week. Slightly lighter than yesterday's gear-busting conditions, teams still returned to the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina with huge smiles on their faces and sore bodies. One of the most excited was nine year-old Charlestonian Willy Comerford, who sailed on the new 40 foot racer Jubilee. "I really like the big waves, and I love sailing the big boat," Willy said. "And today was really fun!" Jubilee holds a narrow two point lead for third place in IRC Class over overall 2009 Charleston Race Week 2009 Champion Teamwork, while the gorgeous 52-foot Vincitore has clinched first place in class with six straight victories in six races. "We don't need to sail any more races," said Vincitore crew Rodney Keenan. "But of course we're going out anyway - why would we give up the chance to go racing in Charleston?"

Slightly lighter than yesterday, the solid breeze still separated the experts from the rest. "Today was great, but not easy at all," said Lee Shuckerow, leading the 28-boat Viper 640 fleet with his Midwest-based Jackpot. "But the big factor out there was the current - it shifted from outgoing to incoming with no warning and no hesitation - like a valve was opened." First-time Viper sailor Katie Burns said racing was "as tough as anything I've done," and she's an Army veteran! "The boat is full of newcomers to the fleet, and it's going to take a while to get the hang of it in this kind of wind." Jackpot has a strong lock on first place in the high-performance Viper class.

Race Committees took advantage of the unexpectedly brisk winds to run four full races for all classes inside the harbor, while the larger offshore-capable boats sailed three tough races in much bigger seas. "Conditions were certainly challenging offshore for us," said Viper 830 owner Christian Jensen. "These lightly-built boats are not really made for this much lump. His main competition in the PHRF Sportboat fleet is sister ship Rented Mule, which had damage to its mast from big waves. "We're getting our mast track sorted out now, and we'll be back out there tomorrow," said owner Brian Taylor as he drove pop rivets through the back of his feather-light carbon fiber mast. The PHRF Sport class has two Melges 32s in strong position for top honors in class, while Rented Mule held third place despite missing two races after their mast problem.

The Tripp 26 class, seven boats strong, stood up to the steep waves better than the V830s. "These are really tough boats, and they rarely get damaged from the weather," said Treez Decker, who has owned her boat Hunting Tripp since 1993. "The 26 will plane downwind - today we were hitting 13 knots - it's just awesome!," she said. A Parent Tripp leads the pun-loving fleet by a four point margin in the regatta, which is the first one-design start for the class in over two years.

Boats across all 15 racing fleets will put it on the line tomorrow to try to gain places. Current forecasts indicate moderate breezes at the start, building throughout the day until long after the 2 PM time limit expires and the winners have picked up their trophies. Fleets are expecting great breeze for the third straight day. "That's certainly what we want to see," said winning Melges 24 sailor Bora Gulari. "That's what we're here for."

Full results are available here, and you can view more great photos at Charleston Race Week’s Facebook Gallery. Sunday’s races begin at 10 AM offshore and 11 AM inshore. Cumulative results for top three positions follow.

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I am dropping these at the bottom of all of the links cause I am too tired to see if Anybody put this out so I have no idea if anybody knew they had offshore coverage available all week. I never saw any link on the CRW front page and there are so many links on the yachtscoring page, I don't know if anyone really listened...or cared.

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I am dropping these at the bottom of all of the links cause I am too tired to see if Anybody put this out so I have no idea if anybody knew they had offshore coverage available all week. I never saw any link on the CRW front page and there are so many links on the yachtscoring page, I don't know if anyone really listened...or cared.

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Light air, flat water on all courses gives way to classic Charleston weather on final day of record-breaking Charleston Race Week

CHARLESTON (April 11, 2010) - The final day of racing at 2010 Charleston Race Week brought a big change to the previous two extreme sailing days, with just 8 - 12 knots of warm wind blowing across the harbor. "We had to sail the boat differently today in the lighter air," said PHRF-Sport Class winner Kip Meadows of his Melges 32 Roxanne. "The wind picked up nicely, but still, it took some quick adjustments and a different mindset to excel out there."

The largest fleet on the water was once again the elite Melges 24 Class, and a tense showdown developed today after the first race, when local star David Dabney used his encyclopedic knowledge of the harbor to sail to a strong third place finish, taking the lead over 2009 Moth World Champion Bora Gulari with just one race to go. "I don't deal with pressure well, so we just went out and sailed our own race," said Dabney. The final race started with Dabney ahead of Detroit's Gulari; yet after crossing ahead of the Detroit boat, Dabney's Conejo Racingfouled local Guy Mossman's Battle Rhythm, forcing Dabney to sail a penalty circle and lose his lead. "After my crew had worked so hard for the lead and possibly the win, I was bummed to have let them down, but that's racing," Dabney explained. The Charleston sailor then gybed first at the top mark to take advantage of his knowledge of the harbor. "We changed our electronics to read depth instead of speed, and sailed to the beach" and it almost worked, with Dabney passing over a dozen boats to round the next mark inches from Gulari. "We kept it as close as we could, but those guys were just a little faster, and they deserve their win," Dabney said. "We had a great time battling with them the whole week." For his part, Gulari was "amazed at how well Dave knew the water and how fast they were," and thought Dabney's team was "all class."

PHRF B turned out to be the nail biter of the offshore courses, with just two points separating Tangent, Velocity, and Primal Scream. "We're good friends that would never mess with one another," said Mark Reddinger from Velocity. "But with points this close on the last day, things change." The boats nearly collided, with "just inches" keeping them from damage as they battle for the lead - but it was all for naught as Primal Scream owner Steve Stollman slipped into the lead on the final leg of the final race, taking the Class victory. "We're good at coming from behind," said Stollman. "The crew just fixes the problem, goes for it every time, and never looks back." Stollman's performance won him the Palmetto Cup, awarded for the most competitive PHRF PHRF yacht in the event. "This is the best Charleston Race Week yet, and it means a lot to win the Cup for the third time in three tries."

The first-ever IRC fleet saw the Swiss Vincitorefinish the event with all first-place finishes. "If we had a couple more 50-footers in the race it would obviously be more competitive," said Hayden Goodrick, bowman on the big blue racer. "But we understand it's early days for IRC here in Charleston, and hopefully they'll be here next year - we certainly hope to as well!"

Not a frown was seen on the hundreds of faces at the awards ceremony on Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina's sandy beach. "The city, the weather and the event organizers couldn't have presented this town any better," said local sailing coach Ryan Hamm, whose J/24 Pigs Fly Toofinished in 6th place. "The competition is stiff, and it's great to see so many sailors learn to love Charleston. Vincitore owner Jim Mitchell agreed: "This place is just special."

Full results are available here, and you can view more great photos at Charleston Race Week's Facebook Gallery. 2011 Charleston Race Week dates are April 14-17, with over 200 boats expected for the South's biggest sailing event. Check out www.charltestonraceweek.com to keep informed.

Charleston Race Week is an annual premier regatta for inshore and offshore racing sailboats 20' - 70' in length organized by the South Carolina Maritime Foundation and Charleston Ocean Racing Association. The 15th edition of this event, the fastest growing regatta on the east coast, will be held April 8 - 11, 2010, headquartered at the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Visit www.CharlestonRaceWeek.com for more information.

The South Carolina Maritime Foundation owns and operates the Spirit of South Carolina tall ship. The Foundation's mission is to offer effective, unique educational opportunities for students, focusing on the history, math, science and literature of our water resources and encouraging personal responsibility, contribution to the community and stewardship of the environment. Since its first season of programming in 2007, over 5,000 students have been served. With the support of local partnerships, the South Carolina Maritime Foundation is able to generate funds to keep these exceptional programs in place. Visit www.SCMaritime.org for more information.